海角大神

As the saga of Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his alleged 鈥減olitical corruption crime spree鈥� has played out over the past two weeks, it鈥檚 been an unwelcome distraction for another politician from Illinois: President-elect Obama.

The Obama team hoped to put to rest some of the speculation with its own findings, issued Tuesday, claiming that transition team contacts with the Blagojevich administration were limited and involved no impropriety.

鈥淲e are satisfied that there was nothing inappropriate that took place here ... between transition officials and the governor鈥檚 office,鈥� said Greg Craig, the incoming White House counsel who completed the internal report, in a phone call with reporters late Tuesday.

Nor, concludes the report, did Mr. Obama or any members of his transition team ever hear a suggestion that Governor Blagojevich 鈥渆xpected a personal benefit in return for making this appointment to the Senate.鈥�

Obama and his aides have not been implicated in the case so far, and the former Illinois senator has never had a close relationship with Blagojevich. But the fact that the juiciest of the allegations involve the governor鈥檚 apparent attempts to 鈥渟ell鈥� Obama鈥檚 vacated Senate seat 鈥� and his hopes that he might gain something of value from Obama for naming the president-elect鈥檚 preferred candidate 鈥� has been enough for some critics to claim that the charges taint Obama, or at least his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, the only transition-team official to have had direct contact with Blagojevich.

Blagojevich, according to the snippets of wiretapped material released in the affidavit, had hoped he could get something from the president-elect by appointing the woman he believed to be Obama鈥檚 choice for the seat: Valerie Jarrett, a close Obama adviser who later took herself out of the running and instead accepted a top White House position.

At various times, Blagojevich speculated about getting a cabinet position, an ambassadorship, a high-paying job with a union organization (as part of a 鈥渢hree-way鈥� deal that would have involved himself, the Service Employees International Union, and Obama), or a well-paying job at a private foundation or political organization set up by Obama.

When such offers weren鈥檛 forthcoming, according to the tapes, Blagojevich complained that 鈥渢hey鈥檙e not willing to give me anything except appreciation鈥� and used obscenities to describe Obama and his team. 鈥淚f I don鈥檛 get what I want and I鈥檓 not satisfied with it, then I鈥檒l just take the Senate seat myself,鈥� he said at another time. In yet another permutation of possible outcomes, the governor said that if Obama鈥檚 people 鈥渇eel like they can do this and not [expletive] give me anything ... then I鈥檒l [expletive] go [with Senate Candidate 5],鈥� later revealed to be US Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

The Obama team鈥檚 internal report has been ready since Dec. 15 but was not made public at the request of US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, so that his office could interview Obama, Mr. Emanuel, and Ms. Jarrett. It confirmed that Emanuel had 鈥渙ne or two conversations鈥� with Blagojevich within a few days of the election. The two discussed Emanuel鈥檚 own House seat and potential candidates to replace him, and Emanuel recommended Jarrett as a candidate for the Senate seat. He subsequently learned that Obama had ruled out recommending any one candidate, according to the report.

Later, Emanuel had 鈥渁bout four鈥� conversations about the Senate seat with John Harris, Blagojevich鈥檚 chief of staff, who has also been charged in the case, the Craig report found. Emanuel relayed the names of four people whom he said Obama believed to be qualified for the post: state veterans affairs chief Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, and Representative Jackson. Emanuel later presented several other names, including Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Chicago Urban League president Cheryle Jackson, to add to the list the governor was considering.

鈥淭here was no discussion of a cabinet position, of a 501c(4) [a political nonprofit organization], of a private-sector position, or of any other personal benefit to the governor in exchange for the Senate appointment,鈥� the report concludes.

While the report stated that Emanuel was the only person in Obama鈥檚 inner circle to have direct contact with the governor or his chief of staff, it also said that an SEIU official told Jarrett on Nov. 7 that Blagojevich wanted to be considered for secretary of Health and Human Services in the new administration. Jarrett and the SEIU official agreed that 鈥渋t would never happen,鈥� the Craig report said.
The Obama team prepared its report without having access to the tape-recordings that provide most of the material in the Blagojevich case, and the possibility exists that Emanuel said things that, while not illegal, are embarrassing.

Emanuel is 鈥渒nown for colorful phrasing and blunt talk, and he could well have said something he didn鈥檛 expect to be [made] public,鈥� says Dick Simpson, a political scientist at the University of Illinois in Chicago and a former Chicago alderman.

Professor Simpson, like others, expects that the Blagojevich case will continue to be a liability, or at least a distraction, for Obama, as his critics try to link the president-elect with the tarnished governor with whom he shares a home city. But with Blagojevich himself having cursed Obama for not offering anything, Simpson adds, most reasonable people should conclude that Obama did not make improper overtures to attempt to influence Blagojevich鈥檚 decision.

One negative for Obama is that the Blagojevich saga is likely to extend over the next year or two, with renewed media interest if the governor is impeached, indicted, or goes to trial.

鈥淎nytime something comes out with the Blagojevich case, there鈥檚 going to be a mention of Obama in there whether it鈥檚 needed or not.... It鈥檚 a drip, drip, drip that鈥檚 going to continue even if there鈥檚 no 鈥榯here鈥� there,鈥� says Kent Redfield, a political scientist at the University of Illinois in Springfield. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 appear to be a major thing at this point, but given the problems [Obama鈥檚 team] is facing, anything that detracts from them getting their message across or takes energy away from what they want to focus on isn鈥檛 a positive.鈥�

On Dec. 19, Blagojevich, in his first public comments since his arrest 10 days earlier, declared his innocence. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to quit a job that people hired me to do because of false accusations and a political lynch mob,鈥� he told reporters, after which he took no questions.

The Illinois House committee investigating impeachment, meanwhile, has adjourned until Dec. 29. Mr. Fitzgerald denied the committee鈥檚 request to see certain documents and for help with witnesses, saying that doing so would compromise his investigation. The committee eventually may get access, however, to the tape recordings of Blagojevich鈥檚 conversations.